Fig. 3: Structural designs and cooling performance of TECs with 3D TE pillars.
From: High performance wearable thermoelectric coolers with 3D structural thermoelectric pillars
a–e Schematic of TEC with different structures. The dash lines in the (a, b) represent path of heat flow inside the pillars. a Straight shape with length 6 mm. b Zigzag shape with effective length 8.49 mm. c Helix 1 shape with effective length 11.38 mm. d Helix 2 shape with effective length 17.66 mm. e Helix 3 shape with effective length 23.53 mm. f Schematic of mechanical simulation of TEC. g Displacement of TEC in the vertical direction along the up edge. h–j The cooling effect of the five structures with varying current input under (h) condition 1 (κgap = κair, ε = 0.8), i condition 2 (κgap = 0, ε = 0.8), j condition 3 (κgap = κair, ε = 0).
